


Drabbles

by mmmdraco



Category: Hikaru no Go
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-25
Updated: 2012-07-25
Packaged: 2017-11-10 17:39:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/468939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mmmdraco/pseuds/mmmdraco
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I don't own Hikaru no Go.</p>
    </blockquote>





	Drabbles

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own Hikaru no Go.

LIFE

"Shindou... why did you even buy this game?"

Hikaru looked up from where he was busily opening a bag of small plastic pegs. "I just... I thought it would be fun. All we ever do is play go."

"We *like* playing go," Akira pointed out, his arms folded in front of him. He glanced curiously at the board Hikaru had placed on the table. "What's this about... having twins?"

"The game is called 'LIFE', Touya. This way, if anyone asks, you can say you have one."

It wasn't until several hours later, once he'd made it to the doctor's office, that Hikaru had finally gotten that blue peg out of his ear. It had been uncomfortable at best. But Hikaru grinned now. Akira owed him big time.

 

UNDERWEAR

Akira couldn't remember a time that a go event hadn't interfered with school unless it was on a weekend. That was just how it was scheduled. Go was for lazy mornings and early afternoons on into a late night.

Of course this time had to be different. The event started 45 minutes after school let out. He could have left early, but it didn't feel right. Besides, Ishikawa had offered to drive him. But of course there was traffic. Now he only had five minutes to change clothes, and while he certainly *could* have worn his school uniform, it really wasn't comfortable to kneel in.

He'd ducked into the kifu storage room to change. They'd started keeping it open since there was such a new interest in studying old plays. He was down to his underwear when the door opened. Akira pulled his pants in front of him to shield him a bit, but it was too late.

Hikaru smiled. "I didn't know they made boxers like that, Touya." He held up his own bag with his clothes in it (a duffel bag rather than Akira's garment bag). "Do you mind it I change here, too?"

Akira blushed right down to his go-stone patterned boxers, but nodded anyway, turning slightly away from Hikaru. "Of course, Shindou." He finished dressing quickly.

As Akira went to grab his tie, he looked up and his eyes opened wide. Hikaru wore... briefs? At any rate, they were bright yellow and had a large 5 right over his... Akira immediately regretted looking. There were implications to the thoughts that were forming in his mind, and he still had a game to play.

 

SPEECHLESS

Akira glared at Hikaru. He glared harder and pointed repeatedly to a certain go stone on the board. He opened his mouth, but didn't say a word. 

Hikaru grinned. "You didn't use a large enough keima here, so I was able to attach here without any problems and gain territory. It's your own fault."

Pointing to a different stone and glaring even harder at Hikaru, Akira couldn't say a word.

"You also should have gone above here instead of below. Then, when I played here in the corner, you could have kept control of this area." Hikaru gestured to the board, still grinning.

Akira pouted and balled up a napkin that was on the table and threw it at Hikaru. It missed and he scowled even more.

Beginning to pick up his own stones, Hikaru smiled. "You know, it's sort of calming to have a game discussion with you when you have laryngitis. You don't argue back, you point to all of the *great* moves I made, and you look at me with that cute expression on your face."

Suddenly, Akira was left with the feeling that even without the laryngitis, that comment might have left him speechless.

 

PATIENCE

When Waya played against Isumi, he was comfortable. No matter what, he could look at his friend across the board and remain neutral in his feelings. But the first time he played Isumi after confessing his love was different. Isumi made eyes at him during nigiri. He played footsie as they began to lay the pattern. When they hit yose, Waya had about as much as he could stand. He stood up and shouted, "You moron! Why didn't you try this years ago?" Isumi gasped and tried to recall the game as Waya cleared the board, and then Isumi's mind.

 

ROOM WITH A VIEW

Hikaru turned his head away again and twiddled his thumbs, wishing there was something on the TV to distract him. But, it was only commercials and sentai and bad doramas. He found himself looking back toward the open door to the bathroom and the steam that was coming out in little puffs. No.

Biting his bottom lip, Hikaru reasoned that the steam was not good for the paint in the main room, and that was why the same paint was not in the bathroom. He had to close that door.

He'd been paired with Akira for rooming at a tournament. When Akira had gone into the bathroom to take a shower ten minutes prior, he obviously didn't close the door all the way. Shortly after Hikaru had heard the water start, he'd glanced over to see that the door was open. 

Now, he took cautious steps toward the door. Before he even got close enough to touch the door, the curtain pulled back and Akira reached out to grab something... likely the shampoo on the counter. He saw Hikaru, grabbed for the shower curtain, slipped in the tub, and went crashing down, pulling the curtain from the bar. He groaned and held up an arm to try to keep the water from the shower from continuing to pound down on his face.

Hikaru rushed into the bathroom, shut off the water, and held out a hand to Akira. "Hey, are you all right?"

Akira slapped his hand away. "Why were you trying to spy on me in the shower?"

His jaw set, Hikaru turned the cold water on full blast and left the room.

A few splutters later, he could hear Akira clamboring out of the shower, shutting off the water, and shoving the door out of his way as he came over to Hikaru. "What did you do that for?"

Hikaru stood up to face him. "The door was open. I was trying to close it. You're the one who popped your head out and showed me your package and shoved me away when I tried to be concerned for you!"

Akira hung his head. "Okay, I'll buy that."

Catching a glimpse of Akira, Hikaru raised an eyebrow. "Geez, Touya. Do you work out?"

Touya looked down at his toned stomach only to have his eyes widen dramatically. "God, Shindou... you'll notice my muscles before the fact that I'm *wearing the shower curtain*."

Hikaru burst out laughing and covered his face with his hands as Akira walked back into the bathroom, being careful this time to make sure the door was closed. After catching his breath, Hikaru called down to the front desk to let them know what happened. Well, maybe not all that happened.

Sitting back, Hikaru smiled. He'd noticed that Akira had been wearing the shower curtain all right... the clear shower curtain.

 

GLASSES

Hikaru looked over at where Akira was sitting and, of all things, polishing Ogata's glasses. They were talking, but they were too quiet and too far away for Hikaru no hear. He was sorely tempted to abandon his game for a moment in order to get closer, but his opponent kept making strange moves that didn't quite fit in with the flow of the game and he wasn't sure he'd catch the newest move when he came back. Akira gave Ogata back him glasses, bowed to him, and walked away quickly. Hikaru was curious, but glad to see his friend getting away from the creepy guy. Later, when Hikaru confronted Akira, he found some of his worst fears founded. "Why were you cleaning Ogata's glasses?"

Akira seethed silently for a moment. "Because I got them dirty."

"How?"

"When I slapped him."

"Why?"

"Because he propositioned me."

Hikaru paused. "So you cleaned his glasses?"

"It gave me time to think about the right way to tell him off."

"I hope you told him I'd kick his ass."

Akira grinned. "I said balls, but either works."

 

PIE

Hikaru rubbed his forehead, took a sip from his long-cold tea, and focused on the screen again. He was playing a game again Ogata on the Internet (even when the man was hours away, Hikaru still couldn't stand him). He wasn't sure why he'd agreed to this, but seemed to recall feeling guilty about never letting Ogata play Sai when he would actually realize it.

Akira appeared in the room just after Hikaru placed his next stone. This was only their second week living together. Hikaru still got a bit of a shock whenever Akira entered the room. This apartment had been his own for over a year before Akira came to join him. 

"Here you go. I brought you a snack." Hikaru looked up in surprise at Akira carrying a tray. Before he knew is, his cold tea had been replaced with warm, and he had a piece of cherry pie... the one thing that Akira could make and Hikaru wouldn't complain.

Hikaru looked at the pie carefully. "Did you have any of this?"

Touya shook his head. "Of course not. I know what cherry pie tastes like."

Hikaru reached up and grabbed around the back of Touya's head, pulling him down to kiss him. He tasted the sweetness on Touya's lips and tongue and devoured them before letting the other man go. "I hate when you lie to me."

Touya reached out and stuck his finger in Hikaru's pie, bringing it up to his lips to suckle it off. "I hate it when you ask stupid questions."

The computer signaled that Ogata had made his next move and Hikaru reluctantly turned back toward the screen. Maybe, if he was lucky, Akira would come back in a while with more tea, and some ibuprofen.

 

NIGIRI

Watching you nigiri is to be of two minds. On one hand, I watch you and note your fierce anticipation of the game -- one that is bound to shine with the brilliance of our moves. But then there is the other hand... the one which does not grasp for stones. The things it clutches at are intangible -- like you across from me if ever you should discover that my two minds conflict every time we start a game. When you nigiri, you tear my heart in two.

 

COMFORT

Hikaru was comfortable. The sheets were cool, the humidity low, his pajamas unrumpled, his pillow perfectly fluffed, his shoulders relaxed, and his mind calm. But sleep still only danced on the edges of his consciousness. He would play Touya tomorrow. It would be wonderful. The sun would shine. The rain would come another day. Hikaru would win, or at least come very close. But nothing could keep him from feeling this excitement, no matter how many games he played. In truth, he doubted that it ever would. There was something about a game with Touya. It transcended everything else, so he played.

 

BLISS

Not long after Sai played Akira for the second time, Hikaru found himself shaking his head just thinking about the boy. Akira took go so seriously -- it was just a board game! But just in the brief time that he'd been "playing" go, Hikaru could see that for many people, this was more than just a game. Their faces lit up when they played until they scowled in concentration. Those who loved go loved it purely, and Hikaru couldn't help but envy that. Soccer didn't have it. But, go... perhaps he had more reason to let Sai play than just history homework. In truth, the feeling of happiness that Sai had when he played was blissful even as it filtered into Hikaru. It was almost worth the concentration headaches and Akira yelling at him.

 

STRIKE

Hikaru wiggled his butt and took his three and a half steps forward, swinging his arm and releasing, sending the twelve-pound ball flying down the lane and into the head pin, scattering all but the ten pin. He gave a disappointed sigh and waited by the ball return. "So, Touya, are you having fun yet?"

Touya reminded himself that this wasn't the end of the world. He wasn't sure how he'd gotten himself roped into this with the loud music and the smoke and smelly, tacky shoes that really clashed with his outfit, but he was here and he was trying to make the best of it. "I still don't quite understand what I'm doing. Can you show me how to throw the ball again?"

Hikaru picked up his ball and assumed the position again. "Yeah, sure. See, you start with an adjustment to your stance," Akira wasn't listening. Certain things were very distracting, but if Hikaru asked, it was the music... definitely the music.

 

MISSING

Ochi flipped a single black stone from hand to hand until it warmed and the feeling of it disappeared. The tournaments were over for the year and he'd done well for himeself. He hadn't won anything to speak of, but he'd placed higher in the rankings than he'd expected. When his grandfather had died at the beginning of the year, he'd been hard-pressed to play his games and made it through only with the tone cold analytical thinking which had gotten him to the top insei spot. Ochi remembered something from that first year, with all of the matches that Shindou Hikaru had missed. He wondered whether Shindou had lost someone even more important than a grandfather, and then wondered how that could possibly be.

 

SOMEONE ELSE'S GO (gen)

Hikaru had his hand poised to place a stone, but paused. "No, Sai. You play. I'm not good enough for him. Play him all out."

Sai took a moment for silence before taking control. "The upper right star."

In the end, Sai won. But when Akira saw the vaguely disappointed look on Hikaru's face afterward, he read beneath the surface. "Whose go were you playing?"

Hikaru looked up; startled. "Whose go could I play but my own?"

Shaking his head slightly, Akira began to clean up the board. "You play almost like Shuusaku... like his ghost or something."

"Oh, no. Shuusaku played with the same ghost."

Akira quirked an eyebrow. "So, a ghost possessed you just to play go?"

Hikaru waited for Akira to say something derogatory about it -- like that a ghost wanting to play go was stupid. But, Akira liked surprising him. "That's wonderful. Living on as a ghost just to play more go? Maybe I'll do that when I die." He smiled at Hikaru before standing up. "Next time, I'd like to play *you*. But tell your ghost I'm always ready for a game."

The wave of joy that washed over Hikaru's body was enough to make him say, "How about tomorrow?"

Akira nodded. "Come to the go salon where you met me. I'll have the nigiri waiting."

 

VACATION (HikaAki)

Akira jerked his tie off hastily, snarling to himself. "I can't believe that stupid cab driver. Driving off with our luggage because we were, of all things, getting mugged?! What kind of place is Japan becoming?" Angry tears were rolling down his face, a further mark of his frustration.

Hikaru sat down on the bed. "At least our room is prepaid. This way, at least we have somewhere to be while we're waiting for our parents to send us money and for the police to track down our wallets and luggage."

"Now is not the time for optimism! We are stuck in the middle of absolutely nowhere for a go event that no one even cares about with no money, no food, and no goban until we go to play shidougo on an empty stomach... and we were held at gunpoint! We're lucky to be alive!"

Laying back against the pillows, staring wide-eyed at the ceiling, Hikaru said, "Shit. You're right. No food? No goban? What the hell are we going to do?"

There was a long pause as both boys evaluated what a day without go would be like. Finally, Akira broke the silence. "Blind go. We'll have entire games in our heads."

Hikaru thought about it for a moment. "Isn't that a bit too easy? We could make it more of a challenge. Remember the last time we did a challenge?"

Akira blushed. "How could I forget? Although I still maintain that, in the end, I won it *all*."

"You won the game. *I* won the challenge."

"So, how do we do the same thing and still manage to say our moves?"

"Well," Hikaru said, "I was thinking of something a little bit different." Akira's eyes went wide. "After all, we wouldn't want our clothes to get any dirtier than they need to before we get something else to wear."

Akira was out of his clothes, straddling Hikaru's lap, and kissing him before Hikaru could count to five... but not before Akira could pull away to say, "Hikaru! Don't touch me there!"

 

SHIFTING FROM GO TO LOVE 

In the beginning, it was all about the game. Everything else was petty, uninteresting, and essentially meaningless. That go began to take on less and less of a role in their lives together seemed like a problem, so they discussed it, and they tried to play more, but the more they talked, and the more they spent time together, the more it became obvious that go was no longer holding first place in their minds *all* of the time, only when they weren't together. They came to realize, though, that love and go mixed incredibly well and made everything okay in the end.

 

THE POWER OF LITTLE THINGS

One single black stone, lost in the corner of the board, and everything else lost its meaning. Akira looked at it and felt his bottom lip tremble, whether in anger or disappoint, he wasn't sure. He'd been expecting the move ten moves ago and had already dismissed its importance and moved on. Now, he was regretting it. He knew Shindou and how the boy would make these moves in a strange order just to spite him, and now he was going to win and there was nothing Akira could do about it. He stilled his bottom lip and smiled, a ghost of a laugh escaping, and said, "I have lost." The smirk that formed in the corner of Shindou's mouth somehow made the loss okay.

 

AS WE GROW OLDER

After Shindou found Sai in his go, he had been a competitor, winning as many of his own games as Akira did. So, when the first ceremony to announce new dan rankings came around, he was there, becoming a 1-dan as Akira became a 4-dan. The next year, he hit 2-dan as Akira hit 5-dan. For several years, Shindou felt like he was only chasing Akira, until Akira reached 9-dan. Two more years, and Shindou would catch up. He was a high enough dan that he could compete in all of the same tournaments, except the Ten-dan. In two years, he might challenge Akira for the title, or maybe he'd get there first. The beauty of the future was that one could never be sure about it.

 

FOND MEMORIES

Back in the beginning, it had been all about winning. There was an element about it that let playing have its role, but Akira realized later on that *playing* go could be just as rewarding as playing and winning. Shindou, back then, had been cocky and confused him, but Akira began to win against him regularly. When Shindou became good enough to start winning occasionally, things changed in every way. It was no longer just a rivalry. There was an equality there that they began to respect, even though they continued to bicker over a stone or two. Akira laughed when Shindou told him, "Those who play together, stay together". But, he laughed because it was the truth. All these years later, they were close, and closer still, to a point that the Go Association never had to know.

 

FOR THE FIRST TIME

It had been amazing, the first time. It was hot and crazy and too much at the same time that it was not enough. Hands were all over the place and all of the politeness that was usually observed was thrown right out the window. They each did it their own way, but the way that came together was spectacular. Shindou was slow and careful while Akira was quick and went by feeling. But it was so good when they were together, better than anything else. When Shindou left, Akira sat there in silence for a bit, not sure of himself, but eventually realized this if it was good once, it would be good again. And, for that, he needed to find Shindou.

 

ALL THE STARS IN HEAVEN

Ichikawa made tea for Ogata, but was tempted to spill it in his lap as she caught where his eyes were focused. "Ogata-san, I'm sure that a seasoned professional such as yourself can play just fine without looking at the board, but shouldn't you watch it anyway to make sure your opponent isn't cheating or anything?" She turned to the man playing Ogata. "No offense, Kinomiya-san." Ogata smiled and took a long drag off of his cigarette. "Why worry? This is shidougo. In that, I am the god who controls all the stars in heaven." Ichikawa's hand "slipped" and poured the hot green tea all over Ogata's tacky white suit. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Ogata-san! I'm not a god of go, so I don't have your steady hands. I'll see if I can find you a towel!" She turned her back and tried her best not to laugh at Ogata's response.


End file.
